


Lost in Time

by jell_0_shot



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 03:44:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4419923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jell_0_shot/pseuds/jell_0_shot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 2014, and a strange man appears in Ramsett Park who doesn't know the year or where he is. Leslie takes it upon herself to help him find his way home</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost in Time

Things had been pretty quiet around the Parks Department ever since she’d returned. Leslie was (impatiently) waiting for the next big project to arise that she could sink her teeth into. She got antsy when there was nothing else to do but park upkeep and the odd citizen complaint. And her co-workers were suffering because of it. 

“Leslie?” 

She looked up from her desk and saw Ron standing in her doorway. His face was folded into the frown that always meant something had happened and he didn’t want to be the one to deal with it.

“There is a man in Ramsett Park, he’s been walking around for a few hours asking people what year it is. I need you to go and convince him to leave, the children are starting to get scared.”

A grin spread across her face, “Of course, Ron. I’ll head over there now.” 

Leslie walked over to Tom’s desk and pulled off his headphones. Snoop Dog’s voice rang out of them faintly. 

“Noooo, Leslie. What are you doing?” 

“There’s a crazy man wandering around Ramsett Park and you’re going to help me find him. Come on!” Leslie’s voice was cheerful as she headed out the door. 

Tom spent the entire car ride to Ramsett Park complaining about how much work he had to not do back at the office, which turned into complaining about getting mud on his new shoes as they trudged around the grass. They’d just passed the water fountain when Leslie spotted a man wearing a pin-striped suit and a bowler hat. He looked like he’d just stepped off a historical drama film set. 

Leslie grabbed Tom’s arm, “I think that might be him.” As they approached, they could hear him asking a young couple where he was and what the date was.

“Hello? Sir?” Leslie was her usual chirpy self, but a tinge of hesitance was in her voice. The man turned around quickly, frightened by the address.

“I’m Leslie Knope, Deputy Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.” She lengthened her arm and offered her hand, which he shook. She looked him up and down; he seemed so out of place. “Are you okay, Sir?”

“It’s Benjamin.” He squinted at her, “I have no idea where I am.”

“This is my friend Tom, we’re here to help you. Are you from Pawnee, Benjamin?” 

He shook his head and looked around desperately. 

Leslie pulled Tom aside, “I think we should take him back to the office.”

“What? Leslie, are you crazy? We have no idea who this dude is.” 

“We can’t just leave him here, he needs help.” 

Reluctantly, Tom helped Leslie bring the mysterious man back to the car. When they arrived, Benjamin jumped back and asked if her Mazda was a spaceship. Leslie’s eyes narrowed, assessing whether or not he was kidding. He didn’t appear to be, but he climbed into the backseat nonetheless.

“What a nerd.” Tom mumbled under his breath.

~ ~ ~

When they arrived back at the Parks Department, Leslie gathered everyone around and introduced them to Benjamin. He met their stares with a meek smile. 

Leslie turned to him, “We’re going to have a quick meeting. Just wait out here, okay?” 

He nodded while the rest of them filed into the conference room. 

Leslie’s voice was a raised whisper, “What do we do with him now? He doesn’t know how he got here or where he’s from…” Her words petered out and her eyes fell on him as he wandered around their office, prodding at their computer screens. 

“I say we dump the dork outside and split. It’s past 5, Leslie.” Tom whined. Leslie stayed silent for a moment longer, questioning her sanity over what she was about to suggest. 

“I’ll put him up for tonight, then we can figure out what to do with him tomorrow.” There was something about this strange man that intrigued her. 

“Great!” Tom stood up, but was stopped by Ron’s gruff voice.

“Sit down, Tom. Leslie, I’m not sure that’s the safest option. You don’t know this man or what he is capable of.”

April piped up with a voice full of glee, “Maybe he’s a serial killer.”

Every head in the room turned, spying on him through the windows. He was bending over their coffee machine, staring intently at the array of buttons that covered the front. A stream of boiling water was released as his finger pressed one of them, causing him to jump backwards; he looked panicked.

“I’ll think I’ll be fine, Ron. Don’t worry about me.” 

Leslie led the way out of the conference room and took Benjamin aside. She offered for him to stay at hers for the night, which he hesitantly accepted. She grabbed her bag from her office and headed out. As they stood in the parking lot, Leslie was overwhelmed with sympathy for this peculiar man. He looked just as shocked by the cars as last time and pulled Leslie’s passenger door open with uncertainty. She couldn’t help but notice that he was kind of cute.

“Are you hungry?” 

~ ~ ~

The dinner crowd was slowing trickling in when Leslie and Benjamin arrived at JJ’s Diner. Leslie chose a booth in the corner and began telling him about how they had the best waffles.

“Oh, I know what waffles are!” Benjamin seemed genuinely excited about recognising something, “My mother and I used to eat them every Christmas.”

“Used to?”

“She passed away a few years ago.”

Leslie apologised before asking him about the rest of his family. He told her that he was an only child, had a strained relationship with his father and no, he wasn’t married. Leslie ignored the feeling in her stomach as she watched his empty ring finger glide down the menu.

“Are you ready to order?” 

“I think I’ll try the waffles that you suggested, if that’s okay. I know it’s not exactly dinner food, but I simply cannot resist” 

Leslie grinned and ordered for them. They spent the meal exchanging stories about waffles and family until the sun was asleep and the diner was emptying. When they got back to Leslie’s house, she asked him to excuse the mess and gave him a grand tour. He told her it was cosy.

The spare bedroom was a chaos of scrapbooking supplies so Benjamin offered to sleep on the couch. As she lay in her bed, she wondered briefly if April had been right. Perhaps he really was a serial killer who had feigned confusion to win her over, before killing her in her sleep. Well if he does murder me, she thought, at least he’s got a cute butt.

~ ~ ~

A loud cinematic crescendo startled Leslie awake. It took her a while in her groggy state to register that someone was watching the television. She glanced at the clock. Even for a terrible sleeper like herself, it was early. She stumbled into the living room and found Benjamin sprawled out across the sofa, engrossed in the images that were flashing across the screen. 

“Benjamin?” 

He twisted around to face her, sitting up as he registered Leslie in her short dressing gown. The way women were dressed – at all times of the day – was still a cause of much confusion for him. He began an apology but she cut him off.

“It’s okay. What are you doing up so early?” A yawn escaped from her mouth, causing her eyes to water.

Benjamin stood up as Leslie approached the couch, “I couldn’t sleep. Everything is awfully odd here in two thousand and…and…”

“Fourteen.” 

He nodded, yes. “I pushed this button here, and it turned this rectangle thing on. It astounds me how many buttons your belongings have. But I am quite enjoying this.” He pointed at the screen.

“It’s a television. It plays shows for us to watch whenever we want.” She smiled at him, bewildered that he genuinely didn’t know what it was. She squinted at the set, “I think this is a re-run of Game of Thrones.”

“It’s very interesting.” He smiled at her. 

Silence blanketed them as Leslie sat down and Benjamin got lost in the show once again. Leslie’s mind was going a million miles a minute; there was a strange man in her house, wearing her sweatpants, who was ridiculously odd but at the same time, confusingly charming. When he smiled at her like he just did, it was so warm that she forgot about the fact that he’d never heard of the most basic objects or that he didn’t know what year it was. She even forgot about his ridiculous suit that looked like it came from the start of the last century.

“Where are you from, Benjamin?”

He looked at her for a while, and his eyes were searching for something. Leslie managed to hold his gaze, despite the slight pink that rose in her cheeks.

“Would you like the truth?” 

Leslie nodded, and pulled one of the sofas’ throws around her goose bump-covered arms. She settled into the corner, ready to listen.

“You’re going to think I am out of my mind, or that I bumped my head. But I promise you with all of my heart, I am telling you my truth.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “I’m from here. Indiana. But not this Indiana.”

Leslie scrunched her nose, “What do you mean?”

“I’m from Indiana but…I live in 1904.”

Leslie laughed until she saw his face; a mixture of hope that she’d believe him and fear. He was genuinely scared and by the looks of it, being sincere.

“Oh wow. Okay, well…are you saying you travelled through time?” She tried to hide the skepticism in her tone. 

He shifted in his seat, “Not intentionally. The last thing I remember is that it was evening, and I was taking a stroll around the village. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in your park surrounded by people wearing the oddest clothes and speaking into little boxes.”

Leslie took a moment to think. Was it possible that this man genuinely was from the year 1904? She desperately wanted to believe him, but there was still a little bit of doubt nagging her. 

“You don’t believe me, do you?” He looked defeated. His voice was so deflated and empty, she couldn’t help but trust this man.

“I do. And I know a guy who might be able to help us get you home.”


End file.
